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Eight for Omaha – We’ve Got a New Number One in the Week 5 College World Series Ranks

By Matthew Bartlett

Jun 13, 2015; Omaha, NE, USA; General view of logo before the 2015 College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 13, 2015; Omaha, NE, USA; General view of logo before the 2015 College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports /
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The College World Series is one week closer and the Week 5 edition of Eight for Omaha features a new number one team and a new member this week.

As of March 20, the D1 Baseball rankings looked like this:

  1. Oregon State
  2. Louisville
  3. Texas Tech
  4. TCU
  5. LSU
  6. Cal State Fullerton
  7. Clemson
  8. South Carolina
  9. Arizona
  10. North Carolina

Eight for Omaha – Week 3 Edition

1. Oregon State (Last Week No. 2, 18-1)

I’ve had Oregon State in the Eight for Omaha column since Week 1. Now it looks like nobody that was sleeping on the Beavers can afford to do so any more. They become the first squad to jettison the TCU Horned Frogs from our top spot, doing so with a sweep of Arizona State. They added a walk off against No. 9 Arizona on Friday night.

2. Texas Christian (Last Week No. 1, 15-5)

No team is going to make it through a season unscathed, but TCU is finally starting to show that they might be mortal. They were shut out in a midweek game on the road against Long Beach State and dropped their series finale to Kansas. If you’re losing to Kansas in anything other than basketball that probably deserves a slight downgrade.

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3. LSU (Last Week No. 6, 17-6)

The Tigers took care of business in their midweek games and rolled Georgia in their opening weekend of SEC play. On Friday night they outscored the Bulldogs 22-9. This young offense has officially reloaded and the starting pitching has been formidable, if not outstanding at times.

4. Louisville (Last Week No. 4, 19-2)

Speaking of good teams, can anyone beat Louisville? Apparently yes. The Cardinals were a perfect 19-0 after sweeping Boston College last weekend, but fell on Tuesday on the road to Cincinnati. First baseman Brendan McKay is hitting .446 with seven extra base hits. The only knock on the cardinals is their level of competition so far, but that will change once they get into the heart of ACC competition.

5. Florida State (Last Week No. 5, 17-7)

The Seminoles were bounced from the D1 Baseball top 25 this week after losses to Florida, Florida Gulf Coast, and a pair of defeats by Virginia Tech.  Even with the rough week their record still sits at 14-7. What I don’t have any answers for are the lopsidedness of their most recent defeats. After winning on Friday night against the Hokies 9-2 they proceeded to lose their final two games of their weekend series 13-12 and 17-0. Yikes.

6. Texas Tech (Last Week No. 7, 19-4)

Just keep winning. Just keeping winning. That’s all Tech has done in recent weeks. The story wasn’t any different this week as they went into Austin and swept the Texas Longhorns. Tech has shown their ability to win shootouts and pitchers duels. That’s the kind of experience that pays off in the post season.

7. South Carolina (Last Week Unranked, 15-6)

Making their Eight for Omaha debut this week are the Gamecocks of South Carolina. After some mixed results to start the season including a series loss to Clemson the Gamecocks has won seven in a row. My biggest concern was the offense, but lately their bats have picked up the pace. While they only have two guys hitting above .300, they’ve found the key situational hits to win ball games. That’s got to count for something.

8. North Carolina (Last Week No. 8, 17-5)

The Tarheels took care of business this week against Georgia Tech and won a midweek contest against Maryland. I continue to be a big fan of their pitching led by J.B. Bukauskas. He’s currently 3-0 with a 1.09 ERA and 51 strikeouts in 33 innings pitched. That’s the kind of talent that wins you games in Omaha.

Where are the Aggies in the Postseason Discussion?

Farther than they were last week. Conference play greeted Texas A&M quite rudely. From a fringe regional host team they’re now sitting squarely on a two seed. That could fluctuate drastically based on how well they perform in back to back weekends against Vanderbilt and LSU. The gauntlet begins.

***Stats and Rankings from D1 Baseball and team websites***